Eagle Ford Shale Jobs Available

Available jobs in the Eagle Ford Shale are now easier than ever to locate through the Eagle Ford Jobs section at EagleFordShale.com. And, for employers, introductory pricing is now available to list your job openings specific to the Eagle Ford Shale Play. The Eagle Ford play is booming across South Texas. Not only are employers from large oil and gas cities like Houston, Dallas, and Oklahoma City looking for help, but the smaller towns such as Victoria, Carizzo Springs, Catoula, and others across the play are also ripe with opportunity. If you're looking for a job in the Eagle Ford, be sure to check the Eagle Ford job listings for your opportunity. Visit Eagle Ford Shale Jobs or click "Jobs" in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

CDL Truck Drivers Absorbed by the Eagle Ford

Truck Drivers are in short supply in South Texas. The number of CDL drivers beginning to turn over at an alarming rate and it just so happens to be timed with a pressing need from the oil & gas industry. If more than 3,000 drivers were need last year, I can't imagine what that number has grown to over 2011. The South Texas job marketing is booming in every direction as exploration and production, as well as service companies open offices throughout the Eagle Ford.

"But as the need for truckers is growing, the labor pool is contracting. As a generation of drivers retires at a faster pace than new ones enter the profession, the industry is experiencing alarming turnover rates: 75 percent in the first quarter of 2011 for drivers at large truckload fleets, up from 39 percent a year earlier, according to the American Trucking Associations.""In Texas, which has more than 16,000 registered trucking companies, the increase in oil activity has exacerbated the shortage as companies struggle to compete with the higher wages some oil-service companies pay drivers."

"But even with the Eagle Ford shale luring droves of truckers (an estimated 3,070 were needed last year), there still aren't enough drivers in the region, said Glynis Holm Strause, dean of institutional advancement at Coastal Bend College, a community college that offers driver training programs in the area."

Read the full news release at MySanAntonio.com

RRC and Haliburton Fracking Water Use is a Concern

Haliburton and the Texas RRC both expressed concerns over the amount of water being used in hydraulic fracturing operations at a Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center meeting in San Angelo, TX. The amount of water used in fracking oil and gas wells has sky rocketed over the past few years.  The completion method was first used in shale gas formations, but has since expanded into liquids-rich formations such as the Eagle Ford.

"Stephen Ingram, technology manager for Halliburton, the oil and gas company that invented the well stimulation technique in the late 1940s, said the industry needs to find ways 'to limit the procurement of water' used for 'fracking.' "" 'We're using a lot of water. We need to figure out a way to utilize less of it,' Ingram said during a presentation at a conference held at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo."

"Leslie Savage, chief geologist for the Texas Railroad Commission, the oil and gas industry's main governmental overseer, said during her presentation that the concerns being raised in northeastern states about fracking and groundwater contamination do not translate to Texas."

" 'Frankly, in my opinion, it is not the well casing, it is not the hydraulic fracturing chemicals that are a problem in hydraulic fracturing,' Savage said. ' It is the use of water, particularly in drought.'

Alice TX Oil Boom Adds Jobs and Sale Tax Revenue

Alice, TX is just the latest town in a series of many that are reporting on the oil boom in South Texas. The Eagle Ford Shale has filled hotels for what will likely be many years to come. Sales tax revenue is up almost across the board and the great thing is activity should continue to grow over the coming months. If oil prices hold, this is the beginning of long-term oil and gas development.

"Alice has its hotels booked, stores expanding and businesses hiring."

"Those are the benefits of being swept up in the economic flood that is Eagle Ford shale production, City Manager Ray De Los Santos Jr. said."

" 'It's not tourism, it's industry that's keeping those hotels filled and those restaurants full,' De Los Santos said."

"Workers spending extra cash on lodging, eating and shopping has Alice's sales tax revenues up 43 percent for the year."

Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count - July 15, 2011

Drilling Rig

This week the Eagle Ford Shale rig count rose from 222 in the prior week's count to 224 active drilling rigs. The gas rig count dropped to 108 rigs drilling, while the oil rig count increased from 110 to 114 active rigs. 1 rig is drilling an injection well.  Horizontal rigs account for 205 of the 224 rigs drilling in the South Texas region. The horizontal rig count continues to climb, with Operators adding 5 horizontal rigs over last week. Stay tuned each week for an update on the South Texas rig count.  Better yet, Subscribe by RSS.

Drilling Rig Count by County

What is the Rig Count?

The Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count is an index of the total number of oil & gas drilling rigs running across a 30 county area in South Texas.  The South Texas rig count referred to in this article is for ALL drilling reported by SmithBits and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford Shale.

All land rig count and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.